Juventus and Italy goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon has had an extraordinary career that spanned over 27 years. The Italian legend is 39 at the moment and there have been a lot of talks about him retiring soon and he has finally opened up on what he plans to do next.
The Juventus great said in a recent interview that next season will most likely be his last season as a professional footballer and he plans to call time on his international career after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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However, the former Parma goalkeeper has stated that he will be willing to postpone his retirement by another year if Juventus can manage to win the Champions League next season.
Buffon has won a joint record eight Serie A titles, one Serie B title, three Coppa Italia and five Supercoppa Italiana but has never managed to get his hands on a Champions League trophy and should the Serie A champions win it next year, he will play for another year to try to win the Club World Cup and other trophies.
"I'm 99.9 percent certain of retirement. I'm going to have one final, intense season, rich in big moments, and then it will be time to say enough is enough," Sky Sports quoted Buffon as saying.
"We've just left one small possibility open with the president [Juventus chief Andrea Agnelli]. That is if we manage to win the Champions League I will carry on playing one more year to try to win the Club World Cup and other trophies."
The 39-year-old has played over 620 times for the Old Lady after joining for a world record fee from Parma in 2001 and has reached the Champions League final on three occasions: first in 2003, again in 2015, and most recently this year and has finished as runner-up in all those years.
While Europe's most elite club competition is one tournament that Buffon has failed to win in his career, he did win the 1998-99 UEFA Cup during his Parma days and the 2006 World Cup and you can expect him to give it his all next season as it could be the last time to see him playing.
